Kavanaugh Reveals What He’s Doing With $600,000 That Was Raised In His Defense

Justice Brett Kavanaugh is going above and beyond to keep his nose clean. And after that freak show of a confirmation hearing, I can’t say I blame him.

Kavanaugh has turned down more than $600,000 that was raised in his name as he defended himself from unverified and uncorroborated allegations of sexual misconduct. The GoFundMe page for the judge and his family, which was launched on Sept. 24 by conservative blogger John Hawkins, announced Tuesday that the intended recipient would forgo the funds to avoid running afoul of judicial ethics.

Kavanaugh doesn’t have to do this — he is in fact adhering to a strict interpretation of the rules, according to Yahoo.

“Supreme Court justices are actually not bound by the codified ethics rules that apply to other federal judges, the Code of Conduct for United States Judges,” Yahoo reports. “However, it appears that Kavanaugh’s statement is drawn largely from those rules, which provide that other than in a few narrowly drawn scenarios, ‘a judge should not personally participate in fund-raising activities, solicit funds for any organization, or use or permit the use of the prestige of judicial office for that purpose.’”

Hawkins wrote in his Tuesday update, “I’ve spoken to a former clerk for Judge Kavanaugh who told me that Kavanaugh’s supporters loved the outpouring of support from this GoFundMe.” He also wrote that he received an official statement from the former law clerk, Travis Lenkner, roughly 10 days ago, but didn’t post it immediately in preparation for figuring out what to do with the raised funds. Hawkins posted the statement in the site update. It reads:

Justice Kavanaugh did not authorize the use of his name to raise funds in connection with the GoFundMe campaign. He was not able to do so for judicial ethics reasons. Judicial ethics rules caution judges against permitting the use of the prestige of judicial office for fund-raising purposes.

Justice Kavanaugh will not accept any proceeds from the campaign, nor will he direct that any proceeds from the campaign be provided to any third party. Although he appreciates the sentiment, Justice Kavanaugh requests that you discontinue the use of his name for any fund-raising purpose.